Arturo Casadevall – Research shows that “late specialists”

Research shows that “late specialists” who embark on a more unconventional path in their careers may first appear behind their younger colleagues, but quickly catch up because they have improved the quality of twinning after trying out other areas of interest and have more knowledge through their diverse experiences. Arturo Casadevall, who assumed the chair of molecular biology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2015, warned that the rate of decline in scientific publications is higher than in new studies, meaning that young scientists cannot conduct quality research. In the recent book Range: Why generalists triunfal in a specialized world, David Epstein is a powerful argument for exploring or testing different interests and jobs before deciding on a career of “his” choice, a process that leads to a “quality of coincidence” that describes the degree of correspondence between “his” work and “his” personality. I hope this will be a time of reflection for aspiring physicians of all ages and backgrounds who care about staying in Canada, for educators who are responsible for training the next generation of physicians and scientists, and for current physicians who are considering exploring other interests. Second, it may also be necessary to provide incentives for innovation outside our medical institutions, inviting thinkers from other disciplines to bring their knowledge and problem-solving skills to medical issues. Early selection allows you to attend the right courses, choose the right large-scale extracurricular activities that make a good impression on your resume, find mentors in your area of interest, and participate in research in this area to strengthen your resume and become a competitive candidate. After reading this book, I wonder if, first and foremost, our culture of over-specialization and early specialization, which impedes research and takes the time to learn about ourselves and our interests, hinders innovation and creative thinking. Innovation and discovery in medicine is a hot topic, offering a lot of money to doctors and scientists with new ideas that could lead to great breakthroughs. A winding and unconventional path cultivates ideas, perspectives, ways of thinking and solving problems that can be transferred to other situations later in life and to other activities. Range’s lessons also challenge conventional methods by which we learn to conduct scientific research and solve medical problems. Many of us in medicine remember that we feel compelled to choose medicine from high school or college, then choose a specialization at the beginning of medical school, then a subspecialty at the beginning of specialized training. If you wait too long before you have a choice, you will be left behind and the youngest and smartest students will take your place, and you will never reach your career goals and your full potential. This idea contradicts our firm belief that an early specialization or focus on a narrow qualification or subject that begins as early as possible is the path to success. Most medical school courses are based on memorizing facts and updating them for exams, and once we specialize, we forget many things.